Earth anchor



Patented Feb. 21, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EIMER K. COLEOF WINTERSET, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO WEI-LOCK MANUFACTURING CO]!!- PANY, .OF WINTERSET,v IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA EARTH AN CHOR Application filed April 30, 1930. Serial No. 448,559.

My invention relates to that class of earth anchors designed to be insertedin' cylindrical openings formed in the earth, and which are provided with a number of earth anchoring-segments which may be expanded outwardly and engage the'earth surrounding the opening.

' The object of my invention is to provide an earth anchor of'this character in which the earth anchoring segments may be expanded in three ways. First by the use of a tamping tool to impact upon the top of the anchor segments; second, by a screw action caused by the turning of the anchor shaft or rod;

1 and third, by tension upon'the anchor shaft or rod inan upward direction, to thereby provide an anchor which may be adequately expanded in hard dry ground and caused to further expand by tension upon the anchor rod in the event the earth surrounding the anchor should later become soft, to thereby adapt-the'device for use under all the conditions to which such devices are subjected. My invention consists in the construction,

arrangement and combination ofthe various parts of-the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim, and

illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, in

which "Figure 2-shows a similar view with the anchor segments expanded:

Figure 3 shows a side elevation of one of the anchor segments; and

Figure 4 shows a detail side view partly in section,illustrating a modified form of the part of the device for securing the upper ends of the anchor segments to the rod. The

'dotted linesshow the position of the arms when the anchor is fully expanded.

Referring to the accompanying drawing,

I have used the reference numeral 10 to in dicate the anchor rod having an eye 11 in its top and being screw threaded at its lower end portion. Applied to the lower end portion is a nut 12 with a washer 13 of large diameter above the nut. Mounted upon the lower end of the rod 10 is a sleeve 14, its lower end resting upon the washer 13 and being loose upon the rod. In the present illustration I have shown two anchoring seg. ments, each being substantially semi-circular. Obviously, three segments could be ifisel, each forming a third of a circle, and so Each earth anchor segment comprises an arm 15 having'the inner surface of its upper end rounded to fit about the rod 10, and havmg formed at the outer surface ,of its upper end a rounded depression at 16.

This arm 15 is relatively narrow as shown in Figure 1, and is extended downwardly and outwardly and terminates in the segmental portion of the anchor. This segmental portion of the anchor is preferablyinclined at 17 downwardly and inwardly toward the rod 10, and'then at 18 it is inclined downwardly and outwardly.

Formed in each segment in the part 18 thereof is an opening, and two downwardly extending lugs 19 are arranged on opposite sides of this opening, which lugs are rounded as shown in Figure 1. Extended through this opening is the upper end of an expand ing lever indicated generally by the numeral 7 20, and this lever has rounded shoulders 21 30 formed thereon to .engagethe rounded lugs 19. At the lower end of the lever 20, the inner face is recessed to receive and fit around the sleeve 14, and at the outer edge there is a rounded depression at 22 and the lower end is rounded to fit against the washer 13.

The two anchor segments are pivotally connected with each other and slidingly connected with the rod by means of a metal link 23 passed about-the upper ends of the arms 90 15 and resting in the depressions 16, and the lower ends of the expanded levers are pivotally connected together by means of a similar link 24.

In the modified form illustrated in Figure 4, I have shown a modified form of the means for limiting the expanding movement of the anchor segments, so that the use of the sleeve 14 may be dispensed with.

In this form of the invention, the portions 25 of the arms 15, which lie adjacent to the rod 10, are cam shaped, and so arranged the when the segments are in their collapsed position, as shown in Figure 1, the rod will slide freely between them, but when the anchor segments are fully extended, as shown in Figure 2, the cam shaped surfaces 25 will firmly engage the rod 10, thereby preventing further expanding movement.

In practical use the cylindrical opening is first formed in the earth in the ordinary manner, and then the anchor is placed in the opening, the opening preferably being of such size that the anchor segments in their collapsed position will approximately engage the interior of the opening. The rod 10 is inserted in the opening until its lower end or the washer 13 engages the bottom of the opening. When in this position the anchor segments may be expanded outwardly in three ways. First, if a tamping tool is applied to the upper ends of the arms 15 and heavy blows applied thereto to force the anchor segments downwardly, then the expanding levers 20 will have their lower ends engaged by the large washer 13 and their upper ends pivotally connected with the lower ends of the anchor segments, whereupon this downward impact upon the segments will cause the levers 20 to spread the segments outwardly into the earth adjacent to the opening.

Second, if the rod 10 is threaded and the anchor members held against rotation by their engagement with the earth adjacent to the opening and the rod 10 is rotated, then the washer 13 will be moved relative to the rod in an upward direction, thus forcing the anchor segments outwardly; and

Third, when an upward pull is applied to the upper end of the rod 10, the expanding levers will in a similar manner force the anchor segments outwardly, and this outward movement in any event will be limited by the upper end of the sieeve engaging the upper ends of the arms 15.

My anchor device is intended primarily for universal use in various kinds of earth and under varying conditions of the earth. It sometimes happens that the anchors must be applied when the earth is relatively dry and hard, and under such conditions it is very difficult to apply enough power to the expanding levers by rotating the rod 10 to cause the anchor segments to penetrate sufficiently into the earth surrounding the opening, and when such conditions are encountered, I have found that by using an adequate tamping tool and repeatedly hammering the upper ends of the arms 15, the anchor segments may be caused to penetrate deeply into the earth.

In some instances where the earth is relatively soft the anchor segments may be adequately expanded readily and easily by the screw action of the rod, and the labor of tamping may be dispensed with.

The advantage of having the arms 15 relatively narrow is that the operator may readily and easily fill the entire interior of the anchor segments with earth, and may also tamp it, thereby more firmly securing the anchor in the ground.

After the anchor has been thus expanded into relatively hard earth, it frequently happens that thereafter the earth will become thoroughly moistened and relatively soft, to such an extent at least that the partly expanded anchor segments would pull out of the opening. With my improvement under such conditions, the tension applied to the upper end of the rod will cause the expanding levers to continue to move the anchor se ments outwardly until their outward limit is reached.

Another advantageous feature of my improved construction resides in the shape of the outer surfaces of the anchor segments. lVhen these segments are moved outwardly to normal expanded position, the inclined surface 17 will tend to firmly compress the earth adjacent to it, and for some distance outwardly. Then the inclined surface 18 will stand in position engaging the under surface of this tightly compressed mass of earth, and thus offer greater resistance to the anchor pulling out of the opening than if the outer surface of the anchor segment were substantially cylindrical throughout.

I claim as my invention:

An improved earth anchor comprising in combination a rod, two anchor sections, each anchor section being pivotally and slidingly connected at its upper end to the rod, an expanding member for each anchor section pivotally connected at its lower end to the rod and extended upwardly and outwardly and pivotally connected at its upper end to the anchor section, each anchor section being formed of a body portion of segmental cylindrical shape and a relatively narrow arm extended upwardly and pivotally and slidingly connected to said rod, whereby openings are formed between the arms to admit earth and tamping tools to the interior of the body, the lower portion of said body when in its collapsed position being inclined downwardly and outwardly, and the upper portion of said body being inclined outwardly and upwardly and whereby when the said 1 body is expanded in earth by tamping upon the upper ends of the said arms the said lower portion of the body will move downwardly and outwardly in a direction substantially parallel with the incline of the lower portion of the body and readily and deeply penetrate the earth, and the said upper portion of the body will during its initial expanding movement co-operate with the lower body portion in tightly compressing earth and holding it between said inclined portions of the body.

ELMER K. COLE. 

